Governing mechanism



Inventor. Frank Ci Phllo,

. y e Mn r m M. ...n 0 lt x z I A 2 0 n o o. y mw #f y L,... b IJ; n n .msm Wm NF. G. PHlLo GOVERNING MECHANISM Filed June l1, 1942 Jan. 30, 1945.

Patented Jan. 30, 1945 2,368,567 GOVERNING MECHANISM Frank G. Philo, Long Beach,

General Electric Company,

New York Calif., assignor to a corporation of Application June'll, 1942, Serial No. 446,568

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to governing mechanisms for controlling the flow of operating medium to a prime mover. More specifically the invention relatesA to mechanisms which include means for maintaining the load of a prime mover constant as long as its speed or the frequency of a generator driven by it remain within certain limits. With such arrangement a 10,000 kw. turbo generator, for example, may be controlled to furnish a constant output of 5,000 kw. as long as the turbine speed remains within one per cent of its normal operating speed. If then a greater speed change occurs the load limiting device is automatically rendered ineffective or inoperative and the turbine is perixntted to take on or throw of! load. In arrangements of this kind it is desirable to vary the load setting o! the prime The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangemnt of governl having a piston 24 secured t tension of the stem 22 is fastened to the turbine ing mechanisms and load-limiting and loadsetting devices whereby the load of a prime mover l may be readily set and maintained constant within a predetermined range of speed change or like operating condition of the prime mover or within a predetermined range of frequency change of a generator driven thereby.

For a consideration of whatI believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claims appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing Fig. 1 illustrates a prime mover governing mechanism embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a load-setting and load limiting device of the arrangement in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a side view along line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

The arrangement comprises a' prime mover, in the present instance an elastic iluid turbine I0, with an inlet valve Il for controlling the ilow of elastic nuid thereto. The turbine is arranged to drive an electric generator l2 connected to a power line I3. The valve il may be controlled in response to speed changes of the turbine i by means of a governing mechanism which includes a speed governor Il driven from the turbine shaft and having ilyweights pivotally connected to an intermediate point of a governor beam l5 supported on a fulcrum I8 and biased by a synchronizing spring Il adjustable by means of a handwheel i8. The right-hand portion 'of the beam l5 is connected by a link i9 to the left-hand end of a floating follow-up lever 20. An interinlet valve il. The mechanism so far described is well known in the art and typical for controlling elastic iiuid turbine admission valves in response to changes oi an operating condition, in the present instance the speed of the turbine.

During operation an increase in speed d ue to decreased load demand from the turbine causes outward movement of the weights of the governor whereby the beam i5 is turned clockwise about the fulcrum I8, thus causing downward movement of the heads of the pilot valve 2i to admit operating iiuid under pressure to the lower face of the piston 24 of the hydraulic motor 23, resulting in upward movement of the piston 24 andy closing movement of the valve lIl to reduce the admission of elastic fluid to th'e turbine. Upward movement of the piston 24 through the-follow-up lever causes upward movement of the valve heads of the pilot valve 2| whereby the latter are restored to their original line-in-line position. Similarly, a decrease in speed due to increased load demand causes movement of the various elements in a direction opposite to the one just described to effect opening of the valve Il.

The load on the turbine may be set in known manner for a given speed by adjusting the tenmediate point of the lever 20 is connected to a pilot valve 2l and the right-hand end of the lever sion of the synchronizing spring Il. With a governing mechanism of this kind any speed change will result in positioning of the turbine inlet valveand a changing load output of the turbine.

According to the invention a device 25 is cooperatively associated with the right-hand end portion of the governor beam I5 for ilxing any load of the turbine and maintaining it constant within a certain speed range of the turbine, or, from another viewpoint, as long as the frequency change in the line Il remains within certain llmits above and below normal frequency. The device as best shown in Fig. 2 comprises a base 26 with a bracket 21 secured to a iixed support 28 by a plurality of bolts 29. An ironclad type of permanent magnet 3l is supported on and secured to the base 28. The magnet has a cylinder 3| of permanent magnetic material, such as an iron aluminum nickel alloy known under the name Alnico, centrally disposed within a Jacket or steel frame 32. A pole plate 33 is clamped to the upper end of the cylinder 3l and to the base 26 by a-hollow bolt 34 of non-magnetic material. The pole plate 33 forms an annular pole 35 of a. polarity opposite to an annular pole 36 formed by the upper end of the jacket 32. The poles 35 and 36 form a comparatively wide air gap between them and they are cooperatively associated with a magnetic ring or armature 31 screwed onto a plug 38 of non-magnetic material and locked thereto by means of a locking nut 33.. The magnetic ring 31 forms an air gap 40 with the poles 35, 36. The gap may be adjusted upon loosening of the locking nut 33 and adjustment of the ring 31 on the plug 33. The plug 3B is securely fastened to a rod or spindle 4I and the lower end of the plug 38 is seated in a recess in the upper i'ace of the pole plate 33. The magnetic eld ofthe magnet passes through the magnetic cylinder 3|, the jacket 32. the air gap 4II, the armature 31 and the pole plate 33. The magnet exerts a ilxed force on the armature 31, thus holding the rod 4I with a predetermined force which may be varied by adjustment of the armature 31.

The rod 4I has sliding fit in the bore of the bolt 34 and projects through a conical opening 45 in the right-hand end portion of the governor beam I5. The upper portion of `the rod 4I is threaded. A bearing sleeve 45 is secured to the threaded end portion of the rod by a pin 41 and has sliding ilt in a bearing 48 secured to the upper end of the bracket 21 by bolts 49. An inner sleeve 50 has an upper threaded hub portion screwed onto the rod 4I. The sleeve 50 may be fixed in its position by means of a lock washer 'I and a locking nut 52. An outer sleeve 54 telescopes the inner sleeve 50 and may be xed in its position by means of a set screw 55 secured to the inner sleeve 50 and projecting through avertically extending slot or opening 55 in the outer sleeve 54. 'I'he screw 55 has a knurled head 51 for forcing a washer 58 towards the outer sleeve 54.

An annular plug 59 is screwed into the upper end of the outer sleeve to form a shoulder or stop 50 in cooperative relation with a shoulder 5I formed on the inner sleeve to limit relative movement between the inner and outer sleeves. Thus the two sleeves are movable relative to each other and to the rod. They may be moved apart until the shoulder 5I engages the stop 50 formed by the plug 59. The relative position between the inner and outer sleeves is indicated by an indicator 52 which in the present instance is in the form of a set screw or projection secured to the inner sleeve and projecting into a slot 63 of the outer sleeve 54. The outer sleeve adjacent the slot, as shown in Fig. 3, is provided with a scale to indicate exactly the relative position between the inner and outer sleeves.

The lower end of the outer sleeve is enlarged and has a separate end plate 54. This lower end with the end plate is shaped in iorm a spherical bearing or socket 55 for a ball member 53 securely held in the socket and having a cylindrical bore concentric with the rod 4I. An extension 51 of the ball member 55 engages the conical opening 45 of the governor beam I5. A compression spring 53- concentrically surrounds the rod 4I within the sleeves 50, 54, the upper end of the spring bearing against a shoulder or seat formed by the inner sleeve 50 and the lower end bearing against a shoulder or seat formed by the outer sleeve 54. The purpose oi' this spring is to measure the force with which the extension 51 of the ball member 55 is forced against the governor beam I5 upon loosening the set screw 55. The magnitude o! the force is indicated in pounds by the indicator or pointer 52 on the aforementioned scale (Fig. 3). In the present example the pointer 52 registers with a mark 20, meaning that the member 61 is positioned to exert a force of 20 pounds onto the right-hand end of the governor beam I5. With such original setting the governor I4 will cause downward movement upon increasing speed only upon an in crease of the downward governor force measured at the right-hand end of the governor beam I5 of more than 20 pounds. Likewise if the magnet is set to release the armature 31 when the total upward force on rod 4I exceeds 40 pounds, then upon decreasing speed the governor lever I5 will be turned upward (counterclockwise about the fulcrum I5) only when the governor exerts an upward force such that the total upward force on member 51 exceeds 40 pounds.

Assuming now that the device 25 is to be adjusted for .6 cycle change in frequency to maintain a constant turbine output or 5,000 kw., asf4 long as the frequency in the line I3 remains within .6 cycle of the normal kfrequency of 60 cycles, in other words, to maintain constant load output of 5,000 kw. as long as the generator irequency remains within the limits of 59.4 and 60.6 cycles. The procedure for placing the loadsetting and load-limiting device 25 in serviceV is then as follows: The turbine governor synchronizing means, in the present example the spring I1, is set by adjusting the hand wheel I 3 to hold a turbine load of 5,000 kw. at 60 cycles. During this setting the extension 51 of the ball member 55 is removed from the governor beam I5, that is, the setting is made while the right-hand end of the beam I5 is disengaged from the extension 51. Thereupon the operator turns the inner sleeve with the outer sleeve 54 as a unit downward on the rod 4I until the member 51 engages the lever I5. Upon further downward turning movement of the two` sleeves the indicator I2 moves away from point 0. This is continued until the indicator 52 registers with the mark 10 lbs. of the scale. In this position the device exerts a force of l0 pounds on the right-hand end oi' the beam I5, thus forcing the beam Il downward, that is, clockwise about the Iulcrum I6. In order to bring the beam back to its former position in which the turbine carried 5000 kw. the synchronizing spring I1 now is adjusted to turn the beam counterclockwise until the indicator 62 registers with the mark 20 lbs." oi the scale. The locking nut 52 and the locking screw now may be tightened. After such adjustment, the end of the lever I5 exerts a total upward force'oi' 20 pounds on the member 61, by reason of the biasing force exerted by the synchronizing spring I1. The previously mentioned tightening oflock screw 55 results in making a rigid connection between the ball member 3l and the rod 4I. 'I'he turbine is now set for constant valve opening at which it will furnish a load o! 5,000 kw., which load will be maintained constant until the turbine speed rises more than .6 cycle. When this occurs the governor beam Il moves away from the extension 51 of the ball member 38 and causes movement of the pIlot valve 2I and the hydraulic motor 23 to close the admission valve II. It should be noted that as the force exerted downwardly by the yball governor I4 increases, the force exerted upwardly by lever I5 on member 51 decreases. When the turbine speed rise corresponds to an increase ot .6 cycle in the electric current in line I3, the force exerted upwardly by lever I5 on member 31 is zero, and the force exerted by the iiyball governor just balances the force of the synchronizing spring I1l assuming that the link I3 exerts In case the turbine speed drops, the governor Il exerts an upward force on lever I5. When the drop in speed corresponds to .6 cycle, the governor exerts a force on lever I producing an upward force of 20 pounds on member 61. 'Ihis force is added to the preloading force of 20 pounds imposed on member 61 by the bias of spring I1 to give a total upward force on member 51 of 40 pounds, which total is communicated to the magnetic holding -device 30 through the ilxed connection between sleeves 50 and 54 and rod 4I. If then the speed drops still further and the governor I4 exerts an increased upward force on lever I5, the magnetic bond between armature 31 and magnet 3l is broken and lever I5 is free to move upwardly to open admission valve II and raise the speed of turbine I0.

The procedure for changing the load-setting on the machine is as follows: Assuming the loadsetting is to be changed from 5,000 to 10,000 kw., the turbine operator will first see that the frequency in the line I3 to which ordinarily other turbogenerators are connected in parallel is 60 cycles. He then loosens the lock screw 55 and the locking nut 52 and revolves the inner sleeve 5 with the outer sleeve 54 in a direction to raise them, moving them upward on the rod 4I. This causes opening of the turbine valve II permitting vthe turbine to pick up load. The synchronizing wheel I8 is then moved in a direction to increase the tension of the spring I'I to raise the turbine load to 10,000 kw. As this load is reached the right-hand end of the beam I5 should move freely relative to the extension 51 of the ball member 55. Thereupon with both the locking screw 55 and the locking nut 52 loose the inner and outer sleeves 54 and 50 as a unit are turned downward on the rod III until the pointer 62 registers with the mark 10 lbs." of the scale, thus exerting a downward pressure of 10 pounds on the right-hand end of the beam I5. The force of 10 pounds on the right-hand end of the beam I5 causes downward movement of the right-hand end of the beam I5, causing a change of the governor position. In order to restore the beam and the governor to their former positions in which the turbine carried 10,000 kw. the synchronizing spring I'I now is tightened to force the righthand end of the beamupward until the pointer governing mechanisms whereby the load of a. prime mover may be readily set at any desired value and maintained constant within a certain range of an operating condition within which the governor is rendered ineffective.

The magnetic device 30 broadly constitutes retaining means for holding the end of lever I5 from upward movement until the force exerted upwardly by the end of lever I5 against member 51 exceeds a force which is preselected by proper adjustment of the air gap 40. The inner and outer sleeves are elements adjustable relative to each other and to the rod 4I and iinally, the spring between the two sleeves or elements, together with the indicator 52, constitute means for measuring the force exerted by the end of lever l5 upwardly against member IiIA while setting the adjustments.

Having described the method of operation of my invention together with the appartus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a governing mechanism, the combination of a pivoted lever, adjustable resilient means biasing the lever to rotate counterclockwise, a condition-responsive device connected to the lever and arranged to exert a variable control force on the lever in either direction, stop means engaging the lever and arranged to cooperate with the resilient means to prevent rotation of the lever. in either direction until the force applied by the condition-responsive device exceeds predetermined values, the stop means including a stationary magnet, an armature cooperating with the magnet and carrying a projecting rod, and a stop member adjustably secured to the rod and engaging the lever to exert only a clockwise force on the lever.

2. In a governor, the combination of a pivoted lever, adjustable spring means arranged to bias the lever for rotation counterclockwise, a condition-responsive device arranged to exert a variable control force on the lever in either direction,

stop means engaging the lever and cooperating with the spring means to prevent rotationof the lever in either direction until the force applied to the lever by the condition-responsive device exceeds predetermined values, the stop means including a stationary magnet, an armature cooperating with the magnet and having a projecting rod, a rst element adjustably secured to the rod, a second element engaging the lever and arranged to exertV a force on the lever clockwise only, means for adjustably securing the second element to the rst element, and means associated with the rst and second elements for measuring the force exerted by the second element on the lever when the securing means is released for the purpose of adjusting the irst and second elements.

3. In a. governor, the combination of a pivoted lever, a rst adjustable resilient means arranged to bias the lever for rotation counterclockwise, a

condition-responsive device arranged to exert a.

variable control force on the lever in either direction, stop means engaging the lever and cooperating with the rst resilient means to prevent rotation of the lever in either direction until the force applied to the lever by the condition-responsive device exceeds predetermined values, the stop means including a stationary magnet, an armature cooperating with the magnet and hav- 'ing `a. projecting rod, a first sleeve adjustably xed to the rod, a second sleeve arranged in telescopic relation with the' first sleeve and having a portion engaging. thevlever and arranged to exert a. force on the lever clockwise only, means adjustably securing the first and second sleevestogether, an indicator on one sleeve, a. measuring scale on the other sleeve `cooperating with the indicator for showing the position of one sleeve relative to the other, and a second resilient FRANK G. PHILO. 

